November 3, 2024 • 29 mins
Pink Lemonade Project is helping patients with breast cancer in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Two OHSU researchers have received prestigious Cancer Moon Shot awards. OHSU research has found promising results in a drug that helps prevent weight loss in cancer patients.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. This week we'll
focus on cancer and research being done at OHSU. We'll
tell you about the pink Lemonade Project and how it's
helping people with breast cancer. Will introduce you to two
OHSU researchers who have won prestigious Cancer Moonshote Awards at
OHSU research on a drug to prevent weight loss in
(00:25):
cancer patients. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Importan City
Council issued a special proclamation. It was led by Counselor
Mangus Maps.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we reaffirm our commitment to
raising awareness, honoring survivors, and standing with the medical professionals, advocates,
and caregivers who dedicate their lives to advancing care and support.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
The nonprofit pink Lemonade Project works to educate, empower and
support all communities affected by breast cancer in Oregon and
Southwest Washington and is the chief strategy officer.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Pink Lemonade Project began with humble roots in twenty ten
by four individuals who heard repeatedly from breast cancer patients
what does my new normal look like? After treatment? And
so they formed the organization and began with retreats, support groups,
(01:22):
and mentors to help those along that journey. Today we
provide a full continuum of support, so education, outreach, screening,
financial assistance, mental, social, psychological, and emotional support. So from
the point of diagnosis through treatment, or if you're living
(01:46):
with metastatic breast cancer, which is advanced breast cancer. I
bring this forward because one in seven people will be
diagnosed in this region in their lifetime, teen percent are
genetic diagnoses, thirty percent will experience a recurrence, and forty
(02:10):
five to forty eight thousand people lose their lives every
year to this disease. That has not changed what pink
Lemonade Project is on the ground, bootstrapped on working with communities, listening, learning,
being culturally sensitive, and working to better the lives, to
(02:34):
improve screening rates, to drive down late stage diagnoses, and
hopefully provide a greater quality of life for those that
live in Oregon and Southwest Washington. That's our surface territory.
So I'm here before you because Breast Cancer Awareness Month
(02:54):
is so important. We are incredibly busy, but we are
fighting this disease, which is the leading cause of death,
a major illness for women and men get breast cancer too,
so I don't want to discount that. So we are
working every day tirelessly to provide a full continuum of
(03:16):
resources for all communities, not just select communities. We are
here for everyone, and so today we are a one
point two million dollar organization serving almost thirty two hundred
people annually.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
That's Anne Berryman, chief Strategy Officer for the Pink Lemonade Project.
Doctor Jamie Keck has worked at OHSU for twelve years
in cancer research.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
I started in a cancer research laboratory under doctor Brian Druger. However,
following a very difficult experience of helping my mother navigate
cancer care, I changed my course and decided to work
on a clinical trial to sequence advanced cancers and identify
targeted treatments. Currently, I am the senior manager of Clinical
(04:02):
Genomics for the Smart Treatments Program ATSU. I am here
today to make sure individuals know that with cancer know
that we have resources for them. It's a pleasure to
be here today alongside breast cancer survivors are collaborators with
the Pink Lamonade Project. With Amanda, a member of the
(04:22):
Night Cancer Research Advocates team, and thanks to my fellow
panelists for all you do to help people experiencing breast cancer.
THEU Cancer Institute supports the health and well being of
those in organ and beyond. It's the Institute's vision to
remove the burden of cancer from the world through innovation,
(04:43):
collaborative research, and education. We provide prevention, detection, and care
one person at a time. We have more than four
hundred clinical trials to test new therapies and approaches. Cedar
Our Center that focuses on early detection gives us hope
that we can better detect and treat cancer in the
(05:03):
earliest stages before it advances by developing novel technologies and
clinical trials such as the Healthy Organs Project. The flagship
project of the Night Cancer Institute's Precision Oncology Division is
the Smart Clinical Trials Program. Smart is an innovative way
of doing clinical trials for patients with advanced cancer who
(05:28):
aren't responding to standard of care. What is unique about
our program is that we analyze DNA, RNA and protein
on multiple biopsies in order to adapt a patient's therapy
before resistance occurs. We have multiple breast clinical trials available
and if you are interested in learning more, please go
(05:49):
to our website at OSU Smart Clinical Trials and Smart
Spelled with two ms. The work of the Night Cancer
Institute extends beyond providing care and research. The community also
partners with us in many ways, such as the Knight
Research Advocates Program, which Amanda is a part of and
you'll hear from her soon. The program plays a key
(06:11):
role in efforts to organizing youth events, participating in tumor
boards they join our smart Tumor Boards, and collaborating on
grant submissions. The research Advocates bring a critical dimension of
lived experience with cancer that benefits both our researchers and
the broader community.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
That's doctor Jamie Kak from OHSU's Cancer Research Program. Amanda
Heinem is a City of Portland employee.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
Many people think of breast cancer as a single disease,
when in reality, it encompasses multiple distinct types of cancers,
each originating in the breast. Some are more aggressive than others,
and some are more insidious. Something which has often overlooked
socially that you just touched on, which is fantastic, is
the fact that men too can get breast cancer. The
(06:54):
stigma around it means men often aren't screened or diagnosed
until the disease is more advanced. Some of the most
significant disparities in breast cancer survival outcomes in the US
are seen among black women, women under forty, and men.
Commonly cited survival statistics can be misleading as they typically
only encompass five year post diagnosis survival rates. This means
(07:16):
emphasis on early detection alongside these five year survival outcomes
may paint an incomplete picture of a patient's long term
experience and mortality risk. Today, I hope, pardon me, I
was able to shed a little light on the complexity
of breast cancer. I'd also like to acknowledge the unique
challenges each patient faces, as the path is different for everyone.
I was personally diagnosed eleven years ago. Thank you again
(07:39):
for the opportunity to share. Good morning, Council, Thank you
for having me here. My neighbor is Nikiosuria and my
fresh ight at Saint Stephen's Academy. Today, I want to
talk to you have breast cancer awareness and the importance
of early detection. I'm going to do this by sharing
a personal story about my mom, a breast cancer survivor.
My mom's journey is not only a painful reminder of hope,
but also the importance and being informed and getting help
(08:01):
on time.
Speaker 6 (08:03):
My mom decided to schedule her mammogram a few years
ago thanks to campaigns like Breast Cancer a weariness Mom.
At first, we were relieved when the results came back negative,
but a report showed she had dense breast isssue. Dense
tissue can make it harder for doctors to spot cancer
on a mammogram. Because of this, her doctor recommended additional testing,
specifically an MRI. I am thankful for that. I am
(08:26):
thankful for that doctor's advice because the MRI revealed the
cancer that the mammogram had missed. This diagnosis changed our lives,
but tashion early made all the difference in her treatment
and recovery. Without that MRI, my mom might not be
here today. This experience ow in my eyes, still critical.
It is for everyone to be informed about their breast health. Unfortunately,
(08:47):
many people face additional challenges and getting information and health
care they need due to language barriers and economic issues
such as access to health insurance. These barriers can lead
to delays in diagnosis and treatment, which is why awareness
eff which are essential. I strongly advocate for spreading knowledge
about regular screenings like mammograms and understanding when additional testing
(09:08):
like an MRI is necessary. According to the National Cancer Institute,
nearly one in two women have dense breast tissue, which
can impact how well mamograms work. In fact, amorragams can
miss thirty to fifty percent of breast cancers and people
with dense tissue, making additional screenings like MRIs or ultrasounds
really important for those at higher risk. Since September tenth,
(09:29):
twenty twenty four, the FDA requires mammogram reports include information
about breast density. This knowledge helps doctors and patients like
my mom understand one to pursue additional testing. My mom's
story shows just how vital this information is. I cannot
imagine my life without my mom, and thanks to awareness
and early detection, I don't have to. This is why
(09:49):
breast cancer Weareness Month matters. It encourages conversations about early
detection and breast health. When breast cancer is caught early,
the survival rate is an incredible ninety nine percent. While
I mom as a survivor, I recognize and honor the
many families who have fought fiercely and face profound loss.
Each story reinforces the urgency of our message today. I
(10:10):
ask for your commitment to spread awareness and promote corrective
screening because every conversation we have can make a positive
difference in our community. I urge those who need screenings
to schedule the routine nanograms. If results indicate you have
dense brest tissue, it's crucial to talk to your doctor
about your individual risk factors and other additional testing is
right for you. I encourage everyone to educate themselves and
(10:31):
others about breast health and advocate for necessary screenings for
the well being of our entireed community. Let's also recognize
and support organizations like the pink Lemonade Project and local
health providers in Portland for offering valuable resources and support
for those seeking information or assistance. Breash canswer affects us all,
and together we can transform awareness into action and hope
(10:53):
into healing. Thank you for your attention, if for standing
with me and the supportant cause.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
You can learn more about the pink Lemonade Project on
their website. It's pink Lemonade Project dot org. Two researchers
at Oregon State University have received prestigious honors. They're getting
funding from the Cancer Moonshot Award. They are doctor Ramon
Brajas and doctor Heiju Shang. They both join us at
(11:17):
Local Voices. Doctor Barajas tell us about your research.
Speaker 7 (11:20):
Yeah, so our research is focused on developing better images
to understand how globlastoma is responding to treatments. So right now,
the imaging that we do, it's the best that we have,
but unfortunately it's just not very good at detecting how
well the treatments are working. And you had imagined for
our patients who are dealing with this deadly disease, that
(11:41):
can be very difficult in having that uncertainty. So what
we're doing is we're developing both imaging that's specific for
how the treatment is working and then also co developing
better treatments that can take advantage of that ability to
see those types of biology that's happening.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
When you talk about imaging, are we talking about MRI.
Speaker 7 (12:02):
Yeah, So the imaging we're developing is using both MRI
and PET imaging. You may not be familiar with those.
MRI uses high powered magnets to be able to see
inside of the body and pet imaging uses radioactive chemicals.
Now that sounds scary, I understand, but the radioactivity that
we use is very low levels and it allows us
(12:25):
to see specifically where drugs are being deposited in the
deposited in the body. And so from that we can
marry both the MRI technique and the PET imaging technique
to form these very specific images of the cancer biology
and how that treatment is working in our patients.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Now, I think you touched on this earlier a little bit,
but how are the current treatment strategies lacking?
Speaker 7 (12:50):
Well, you know, the current standard that we do is
we offer the patients to have surgery where the surgeons
go in there and take out as much as the
tumor as that they can, and then that's followed by
six weeks of a radiation to the to the tumor
site in the brain and then also a chemotherapy called temozolamide.
And so that that therapeutic regimen has was developed in
(13:13):
the nineties and has been standard of care for the
last twenty or so years, and it does a good
job at prolonging patients survival time. You get about four
extra months of life with that. But we want to
move that bar even further and hopefully someday be able
to reach where we can have a cure. And so
what we're doing is we're developing drugs that will change
(13:36):
the way the immune system interacts with the tumor. Currently,
the immune system, believe it or not, in the brain,
actually helps the tumor grow. And so what we want
to do is we want to develop better immune treatments,
immune immunotherapy treatments that shift from helping the tumor grow
to getting to fighting that cancer. And so the goal
(13:56):
is to develop these image techniques that can specifically see
the immune cells and be able to shift that so
that those immune cells are fighting the cancer.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
So how will the Cancer Moonshot Award help your research?
Speaker 7 (14:10):
Yeah, you know the I just feel so so incredibly
grateful to have been funded by the Cancer Moonshot Award.
It really is a big step in progressing this research forward.
The funds that come along with this are really going
to help drive the science that we need to do
to better understand what this imaging means and how we
(14:33):
can develop these better therapies.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Doctor brah has anything else you would like to.
Speaker 7 (14:36):
Add, You know, I'm just so incredibly grateful to all
the support that I've received, not only from you know,
the NIH, but also here at O HSU. It's such
a supportive environment. We're doing the absolute best care for
our patients here and we're really trying to drive drive
the future of science forward. And also I just want
to mention you know that I'm incredibly grateful for our
(14:57):
patients that do come and devote the time for this
research project. You know, when they're dealing with this this
terminal disease, they're spending time with us to progress this
future science forward, and that just means a tremendous amountomy
that that they're that they're spending the time UH to
work with us on this cancer therapies.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
That's doctor Ramon Brajas, who is one of two O
HSU researchers to receive funding from the Cancer Moonshot Award.
The other researcher is doctor Heishao Jiang. Tell us about
your research.
Speaker 8 (15:27):
My label is a study how amazing pieces of a
chromsome can lead to BLAOD disorder. So our goal is
to develop novel treatment that can attack the vulnerability of
these cancer cells, so hopefully we can bring new hope
to this pearish patient which carrying chromsme abnormality and currently
(15:48):
have no effective treatment.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
What is the ultimate goal of your research.
Speaker 8 (15:54):
Yeah, my automated goal is to fund the weakness of
the cancer cells due to deletion of chrombs some origions
important for the cancer cells, and then we can utilize
these weakness to develop their poetics to bring new effective
treatment for patients carrying chrombs some deletion and hopefully this
(16:17):
can translate it to clinic testing eventually can improved outcome
of this patient.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
So what type of treatments might be developed? Would it
be a different type of chemotherapy or you know, a
pill or an injection? What type of treatment might it be?
Speaker 8 (16:36):
So this will be like targeted inhibitors. So instead of
traditional therapy challenging the tumors strengths, the uncle geneic events
has on, so we are focusing on exploiting its vulnerability,
so targeting its haidden weak points. So eventually it will
(16:57):
be pails I would say targeted therapy.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Uh, yes, interesting, So it is that kind of research
is it is a trial and error, trial and success
to see what eventually works or are you able to
map a course of what you want to try to
see if it works.
Speaker 8 (17:19):
So this type of therapy is called synthetic LISO therapy
on a broad spectr and there are very successful examples
of this approach. So one famous example is using inhibitor
to treat a breast cancer and then another for hematologic malignancies.
(17:42):
We also use Lada leadomite to treat a Crompson five
division patient. Uh, they are using the similar approach. So
we found the weakness of the cancer cells and then
we use another inhibitor to further targeting the weak point
to kill the cancer cell. So it's yeah, it's different
(18:05):
from targeting the strong Uncle Jenek event. Here we are
trying to find the weak point of the cancer cell.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Very interesting. How will the Cancer Moonshot Award help your research?
Speaker 8 (18:19):
This award means a lot to me and to my lab,
so it will significantly accelerate our ongoing research to develop
synthetical lyso therapy for Chromson delition patient. To be specifically,
it can help me to hire new members. Actually were
using this grant. I recently had two research assistant and
(18:42):
we also ordered a new knock at mice to study
our gene of interest. It also can frame me a
lot of time from writing grant to focus on doing
research to move it forward.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
That's doctor Haishaw Chang She and doctor own Brajas at
Ohsu or recipients of funding from the prestigious Cancer Moonshot Award.
Kakexia is a condition that causes weight, muscle and fat loss,
as well as physical weakness and people with cancer. To date,
there are no food in drug administration improved medications to
(19:19):
prevent or treat kakexia, making it an urgent unmet need
in cancer research and treatment. Doctor Eric Rowland at Ohsu
studied a new therapy that might help. What's the drug
called and what does it do well?
Speaker 9 (19:32):
I think maybe the first step is really to talk
about what the syndrome is. It's called cancer kackexia, and
for most of the listeners, they're not going to be
familiar with that term. In fact, many can even pronounce
it xia c A c H E xi A. And
(19:54):
you know, this is a syndrome associated with cancer and
its treatment. It's multi factorial and it's different from your
typical weight loss. What we see in people that are
experiencing canccerchexia as they're experiencing appetite and weight loss as
(20:16):
well as skeletal muscle loss, and all this leads to fatigue,
functional impairment, increased toxicity from their cancer treatment, a poor
quality of life, and reduced survival. And this syndrome of
canccakexia is highly prevalent across many cancer types and up
(20:41):
to half or even eighty percent of people living with
the advanced stages of cancer. But sadly, people with cancer
and experiencing this syndrome may not know what it is
and how it's different from typical weight loss. So I
think that's a critical takeaway for the listeners is to
(21:03):
understand what kackexia is and how it is different from
typical weight loss.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
So when we hear of a cancer patient not having
an appetite and losing weight because they're not eating, is
kackexia responsible across the board for cancer appetite effects or
are there other things besides cockexia that can cause that.
Speaker 9 (21:29):
So kakexia is a likely contributor for most. However, it's
critical that people living with cancer also are having all
of their symptoms addressed, and these symptoms can be things
like pain or constipation or nogen vomiting that decrease one's
(21:50):
ability to eat. I think understanding that there is this
syndrome called kockexia, which really makes it challenging for people
to actually try to eat and get those calories in
is really critical for not only patients to understand, but
also their caregivers, because this can cause an immense amount
(22:14):
of distress around food. And I've seen this even turn
into a battle over the dinner table, where loved ones
are pushing food, wanting their loved one to eat, where
the patient is experiencing just profound struggle to even look
(22:34):
at food, much less get it in their mouth. And
so this creates this tension that to the point that
some patients will pretend to be a sleep find excuses
not to be present at the dinner table. And of
course food is a very social time. It's an opportunity
(22:56):
for us to interact with our loved ones, and you
watching your loved one eat is an essential role of
a caregiver. So this is a very complicated topic, and
I think the most important thing for everyone is to
really understand that this exists and that it's different. And
(23:20):
so that kind of sets the background for this very
exciting intervention and I can tell you more about about that.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Yeah, tell us what is it called, and tell us
about how it works.
Speaker 9 (23:34):
Yeah, so this is cutting edge cancer care. So over
the last fifteen years, scientists have been working hard to
develop a fancy drug that targets a specific inflammatory mediator
(23:57):
or cytokine called growth differentiation factor fifteen. And all that's
to say is that this particular CIDO kind causes loss
of appetite and weight loss at a specific part of
(24:18):
the brain, the brain stem. And so this drug was
developed that's a monoclonal an a body, so it's highly
specific for this particular inflammatory marker and decreases the circulating
levels of that marker in the blood. So it's highly selective.
(24:42):
And so we were able to use this very exciting
new drug in patients who are experiencing weight and appetite loss,
who also had had three specific types of cancer non
(25:03):
small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and chorectal cancer. And
for the first time ever, this was a biomarker driven
study for the control of symptoms and people living with cancer.
(25:25):
And what I mean by that is that rather than
just broadly giving a drug to people and hoping to
see a response, we were able to do a blood
test that demonstrated whether or not patients had a high
level of this growth differentiation factor fifteen or GDF fifteen.
(25:48):
If that was high in their blood, that would indicate
that they would be more likely to respond to this
monoclonal antibody called pont segra man and that was administered
to patients on a monthly basis as a subcutaneous injection,
(26:11):
so just right underneath the skin prior to their treatment.
And what we were able to find evaluate is that
several components of this this complicated syndrome. The first that
was most important is the body weight. We wanted to
(26:35):
ensure that patients were gaining weight over the course of
three weeks. Second, we looked at appetite, additional symptoms related
to cockexia, the skeletal muscle, as well as physical activity
(26:56):
using some digital measures and of course safety very important
and exciting way, we found that patients experienced up to
six point two pounds of weight gain receiving the highest
dose of the pontzegramab. We also demonstrated that patients had
(27:19):
improved appetite, improved symptoms, enhanced skeletal muscle, and improved non
sedentary physical activity. Meaning patients were up and moving and
taking care of themselves. And most importantly, we did not
find any evidence that there was increased toxicity or higher
(27:44):
concern for safety for those receiving pont segramab over lacebo.
Very exciting in a field where we really haven't had
much available for patients for several.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Decades other side effects to it, So so far.
Speaker 9 (28:04):
We have not determined or found any side effects. In fact,
there was some suggestion on the study that people receiving
the active drug actually had fewer side effects than those
on receiving the placebo.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Now you tested this on three cancers, do you think
it will work on others? Or are their plans to
test it on others?
Speaker 9 (28:26):
That remains to be seen. You know, a critical piece
of this is that we wanted to ensure that there
were high levels of this marker in the blood, that
GDF fifteen. These these three cancer types are known to
have high circulating levels of GDF fifteen in the blood.
But this is a clear area for ongoing investigation given
(28:50):
that cancer keexia is widely prevalent across multiple cancer types.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
So what's next for this drug trial and the approve
approval process?
Speaker 9 (29:01):
You know, I think despite a very very exciting early signal,
we will require a larger registrational trial and hopefully lead
this towards an FDA approval, as we currently have no
(29:21):
FDA approved drugs to help patients living with this horrible syndrome.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Well, that is very exciting. Doctor, Thank you very much
for taking time to talk with us.
Speaker 9 (29:31):
Thank you, Brad.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
That's doctor Eric Rowland with details on the drug that
helps prevent weight loss in cancer patience. Thanks for listening
to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. You can hear past
episodes on the iHeartRadio app under the podcast tap. Local
Voices is a public affairs presentation from iHeartRadio
Welcome to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. This week we'll
focus on cancer and research being done at OHSU. We'll
tell you about the pink Lemonade Project and how it's
helping people with breast cancer. Will introduce you to two
OHSU researchers who have won prestigious Cancer Moonshote Awards at
OHSU research on a drug to prevent weight loss in
(00:25):
cancer patients. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Importan City
Council issued a special proclamation. It was led by Counselor
Mangus Maps.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we reaffirm our commitment to
raising awareness, honoring survivors, and standing with the medical professionals, advocates,
and caregivers who dedicate their lives to advancing care and support.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
The nonprofit pink Lemonade Project works to educate, empower and
support all communities affected by breast cancer in Oregon and
Southwest Washington and is the chief strategy officer.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Pink Lemonade Project began with humble roots in twenty ten
by four individuals who heard repeatedly from breast cancer patients
what does my new normal look like? After treatment? And
so they formed the organization and began with retreats, support groups,
(01:22):
and mentors to help those along that journey. Today we
provide a full continuum of support, so education, outreach, screening,
financial assistance, mental, social, psychological, and emotional support. So from
the point of diagnosis through treatment, or if you're living
(01:46):
with metastatic breast cancer, which is advanced breast cancer. I
bring this forward because one in seven people will be
diagnosed in this region in their lifetime, teen percent are
genetic diagnoses, thirty percent will experience a recurrence, and forty
(02:10):
five to forty eight thousand people lose their lives every
year to this disease. That has not changed what pink
Lemonade Project is on the ground, bootstrapped on working with communities, listening, learning,
being culturally sensitive, and working to better the lives, to
(02:34):
improve screening rates, to drive down late stage diagnoses, and
hopefully provide a greater quality of life for those that
live in Oregon and Southwest Washington. That's our surface territory.
So I'm here before you because Breast Cancer Awareness Month
(02:54):
is so important. We are incredibly busy, but we are
fighting this disease, which is the leading cause of death,
a major illness for women and men get breast cancer too,
so I don't want to discount that. So we are
working every day tirelessly to provide a full continuum of
(03:16):
resources for all communities, not just select communities. We are
here for everyone, and so today we are a one
point two million dollar organization serving almost thirty two hundred
people annually.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
That's Anne Berryman, chief Strategy Officer for the Pink Lemonade Project.
Doctor Jamie Keck has worked at OHSU for twelve years
in cancer research.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
I started in a cancer research laboratory under doctor Brian Druger. However,
following a very difficult experience of helping my mother navigate
cancer care, I changed my course and decided to work
on a clinical trial to sequence advanced cancers and identify
targeted treatments. Currently, I am the senior manager of Clinical
(04:02):
Genomics for the Smart Treatments Program ATSU. I am here
today to make sure individuals know that with cancer know
that we have resources for them. It's a pleasure to
be here today alongside breast cancer survivors are collaborators with
the Pink Lamonade Project. With Amanda, a member of the
(04:22):
Night Cancer Research Advocates team, and thanks to my fellow
panelists for all you do to help people experiencing breast cancer.
THEU Cancer Institute supports the health and well being of
those in organ and beyond. It's the Institute's vision to
remove the burden of cancer from the world through innovation,
(04:43):
collaborative research, and education. We provide prevention, detection, and care
one person at a time. We have more than four
hundred clinical trials to test new therapies and approaches. Cedar
Our Center that focuses on early detection gives us hope
that we can better detect and treat cancer in the
(05:03):
earliest stages before it advances by developing novel technologies and
clinical trials such as the Healthy Organs Project. The flagship
project of the Night Cancer Institute's Precision Oncology Division is
the Smart Clinical Trials Program. Smart is an innovative way
of doing clinical trials for patients with advanced cancer who
(05:28):
aren't responding to standard of care. What is unique about
our program is that we analyze DNA, RNA and protein
on multiple biopsies in order to adapt a patient's therapy
before resistance occurs. We have multiple breast clinical trials available
and if you are interested in learning more, please go
(05:49):
to our website at OSU Smart Clinical Trials and Smart
Spelled with two ms. The work of the Night Cancer
Institute extends beyond providing care and research. The community also
partners with us in many ways, such as the Knight
Research Advocates Program, which Amanda is a part of and
you'll hear from her soon. The program plays a key
(06:11):
role in efforts to organizing youth events, participating in tumor
boards they join our smart Tumor Boards, and collaborating on
grant submissions. The research Advocates bring a critical dimension of
lived experience with cancer that benefits both our researchers and
the broader community.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
That's doctor Jamie Kak from OHSU's Cancer Research Program. Amanda
Heinem is a City of Portland employee.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
Many people think of breast cancer as a single disease,
when in reality, it encompasses multiple distinct types of cancers,
each originating in the breast. Some are more aggressive than others,
and some are more insidious. Something which has often overlooked
socially that you just touched on, which is fantastic, is
the fact that men too can get breast cancer. The
(06:54):
stigma around it means men often aren't screened or diagnosed
until the disease is more advanced. Some of the most
significant disparities in breast cancer survival outcomes in the US
are seen among black women, women under forty, and men.
Commonly cited survival statistics can be misleading as they typically
only encompass five year post diagnosis survival rates. This means
(07:16):
emphasis on early detection alongside these five year survival outcomes
may paint an incomplete picture of a patient's long term
experience and mortality risk. Today, I hope, pardon me, I
was able to shed a little light on the complexity
of breast cancer. I'd also like to acknowledge the unique
challenges each patient faces, as the path is different for everyone.
I was personally diagnosed eleven years ago. Thank you again
(07:39):
for the opportunity to share. Good morning, Council, Thank you
for having me here. My neighbor is Nikiosuria and my
fresh ight at Saint Stephen's Academy. Today, I want to
talk to you have breast cancer awareness and the importance
of early detection. I'm going to do this by sharing
a personal story about my mom, a breast cancer survivor.
My mom's journey is not only a painful reminder of hope,
but also the importance and being informed and getting help
(08:01):
on time.
Speaker 6 (08:03):
My mom decided to schedule her mammogram a few years
ago thanks to campaigns like Breast Cancer a weariness Mom.
At first, we were relieved when the results came back negative,
but a report showed she had dense breast isssue. Dense
tissue can make it harder for doctors to spot cancer
on a mammogram. Because of this, her doctor recommended additional testing,
specifically an MRI. I am thankful for that. I am
(08:26):
thankful for that doctor's advice because the MRI revealed the
cancer that the mammogram had missed. This diagnosis changed our lives,
but tashion early made all the difference in her treatment
and recovery. Without that MRI, my mom might not be
here today. This experience ow in my eyes, still critical.
It is for everyone to be informed about their breast health. Unfortunately,
(08:47):
many people face additional challenges and getting information and health
care they need due to language barriers and economic issues
such as access to health insurance. These barriers can lead
to delays in diagnosis and treatment, which is why awareness
eff which are essential. I strongly advocate for spreading knowledge
about regular screenings like mammograms and understanding when additional testing
(09:08):
like an MRI is necessary. According to the National Cancer Institute,
nearly one in two women have dense breast tissue, which
can impact how well mamograms work. In fact, amorragams can
miss thirty to fifty percent of breast cancers and people
with dense tissue, making additional screenings like MRIs or ultrasounds
really important for those at higher risk. Since September tenth,
(09:29):
twenty twenty four, the FDA requires mammogram reports include information
about breast density. This knowledge helps doctors and patients like
my mom understand one to pursue additional testing. My mom's
story shows just how vital this information is. I cannot
imagine my life without my mom, and thanks to awareness
and early detection, I don't have to. This is why
(09:49):
breast cancer Weareness Month matters. It encourages conversations about early
detection and breast health. When breast cancer is caught early,
the survival rate is an incredible ninety nine percent. While
I mom as a survivor, I recognize and honor the
many families who have fought fiercely and face profound loss.
Each story reinforces the urgency of our message today. I
(10:10):
ask for your commitment to spread awareness and promote corrective
screening because every conversation we have can make a positive
difference in our community. I urge those who need screenings
to schedule the routine nanograms. If results indicate you have
dense brest tissue, it's crucial to talk to your doctor
about your individual risk factors and other additional testing is
right for you. I encourage everyone to educate themselves and
(10:31):
others about breast health and advocate for necessary screenings for
the well being of our entireed community. Let's also recognize
and support organizations like the pink Lemonade Project and local
health providers in Portland for offering valuable resources and support
for those seeking information or assistance. Breash canswer affects us all,
and together we can transform awareness into action and hope
(10:53):
into healing. Thank you for your attention, if for standing
with me and the supportant cause.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
You can learn more about the pink Lemonade Project on
their website. It's pink Lemonade Project dot org. Two researchers
at Oregon State University have received prestigious honors. They're getting
funding from the Cancer Moonshot Award. They are doctor Ramon
Brajas and doctor Heiju Shang. They both join us at
(11:17):
Local Voices. Doctor Barajas tell us about your research.
Speaker 7 (11:20):
Yeah, so our research is focused on developing better images
to understand how globlastoma is responding to treatments. So right now,
the imaging that we do, it's the best that we have,
but unfortunately it's just not very good at detecting how
well the treatments are working. And you had imagined for
our patients who are dealing with this deadly disease, that
(11:41):
can be very difficult in having that uncertainty. So what
we're doing is we're developing both imaging that's specific for
how the treatment is working and then also co developing
better treatments that can take advantage of that ability to
see those types of biology that's happening.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
When you talk about imaging, are we talking about MRI.
Speaker 7 (12:02):
Yeah, So the imaging we're developing is using both MRI
and PET imaging. You may not be familiar with those.
MRI uses high powered magnets to be able to see
inside of the body and pet imaging uses radioactive chemicals.
Now that sounds scary, I understand, but the radioactivity that
we use is very low levels and it allows us
(12:25):
to see specifically where drugs are being deposited in the
deposited in the body. And so from that we can
marry both the MRI technique and the PET imaging technique
to form these very specific images of the cancer biology
and how that treatment is working in our patients.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Now, I think you touched on this earlier a little bit,
but how are the current treatment strategies lacking?
Speaker 7 (12:50):
Well, you know, the current standard that we do is
we offer the patients to have surgery where the surgeons
go in there and take out as much as the
tumor as that they can, and then that's followed by
six weeks of a radiation to the to the tumor
site in the brain and then also a chemotherapy called temozolamide.
And so that that therapeutic regimen has was developed in
(13:13):
the nineties and has been standard of care for the
last twenty or so years, and it does a good
job at prolonging patients survival time. You get about four
extra months of life with that. But we want to
move that bar even further and hopefully someday be able
to reach where we can have a cure. And so
what we're doing is we're developing drugs that will change
(13:36):
the way the immune system interacts with the tumor. Currently,
the immune system, believe it or not, in the brain,
actually helps the tumor grow. And so what we want
to do is we want to develop better immune treatments,
immune immunotherapy treatments that shift from helping the tumor grow
to getting to fighting that cancer. And so the goal
(13:56):
is to develop these image techniques that can specifically see
the immune cells and be able to shift that so
that those immune cells are fighting the cancer.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
So how will the Cancer Moonshot Award help your research?
Speaker 7 (14:10):
Yeah, you know the I just feel so so incredibly
grateful to have been funded by the Cancer Moonshot Award.
It really is a big step in progressing this research forward.
The funds that come along with this are really going
to help drive the science that we need to do
to better understand what this imaging means and how we
(14:33):
can develop these better therapies.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Doctor brah has anything else you would like to.
Speaker 7 (14:36):
Add, You know, I'm just so incredibly grateful to all
the support that I've received, not only from you know,
the NIH, but also here at O HSU. It's such
a supportive environment. We're doing the absolute best care for
our patients here and we're really trying to drive drive
the future of science forward. And also I just want
to mention you know that I'm incredibly grateful for our
(14:57):
patients that do come and devote the time for this
research project. You know, when they're dealing with this this
terminal disease, they're spending time with us to progress this
future science forward, and that just means a tremendous amountomy
that that they're that they're spending the time UH to
work with us on this cancer therapies.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
That's doctor Ramon Brajas, who is one of two O
HSU researchers to receive funding from the Cancer Moonshot Award.
The other researcher is doctor Heishao Jiang. Tell us about
your research.
Speaker 8 (15:27):
My label is a study how amazing pieces of a
chromsome can lead to BLAOD disorder. So our goal is
to develop novel treatment that can attack the vulnerability of
these cancer cells, so hopefully we can bring new hope
to this pearish patient which carrying chromsme abnormality and currently
(15:48):
have no effective treatment.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
What is the ultimate goal of your research.
Speaker 8 (15:54):
Yeah, my automated goal is to fund the weakness of
the cancer cells due to deletion of chrombs some origions
important for the cancer cells, and then we can utilize
these weakness to develop their poetics to bring new effective
treatment for patients carrying chrombs some deletion and hopefully this
(16:17):
can translate it to clinic testing eventually can improved outcome
of this patient.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
So what type of treatments might be developed? Would it
be a different type of chemotherapy or you know, a
pill or an injection? What type of treatment might it be?
Speaker 8 (16:36):
So this will be like targeted inhibitors. So instead of
traditional therapy challenging the tumors strengths, the uncle geneic events
has on, so we are focusing on exploiting its vulnerability,
so targeting its haidden weak points. So eventually it will
(16:57):
be pails I would say targeted therapy.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Uh, yes, interesting, So it is that kind of research
is it is a trial and error, trial and success
to see what eventually works or are you able to
map a course of what you want to try to
see if it works.
Speaker 8 (17:19):
So this type of therapy is called synthetic LISO therapy
on a broad spectr and there are very successful examples
of this approach. So one famous example is using inhibitor
to treat a breast cancer and then another for hematologic malignancies.
(17:42):
We also use Lada leadomite to treat a Crompson five
division patient. Uh, they are using the similar approach. So
we found the weakness of the cancer cells and then
we use another inhibitor to further targeting the weak point
to kill the cancer cell. So it's yeah, it's different
(18:05):
from targeting the strong Uncle Jenek event. Here we are
trying to find the weak point of the cancer cell.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Very interesting. How will the Cancer Moonshot Award help your research?
Speaker 8 (18:19):
This award means a lot to me and to my lab,
so it will significantly accelerate our ongoing research to develop
synthetical lyso therapy for Chromson delition patient. To be specifically,
it can help me to hire new members. Actually were
using this grant. I recently had two research assistant and
(18:42):
we also ordered a new knock at mice to study
our gene of interest. It also can frame me a
lot of time from writing grant to focus on doing
research to move it forward.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
That's doctor Haishaw Chang She and doctor own Brajas at
Ohsu or recipients of funding from the prestigious Cancer Moonshot Award.
Kakexia is a condition that causes weight, muscle and fat loss,
as well as physical weakness and people with cancer. To date,
there are no food in drug administration improved medications to
(19:19):
prevent or treat kakexia, making it an urgent unmet need
in cancer research and treatment. Doctor Eric Rowland at Ohsu
studied a new therapy that might help. What's the drug
called and what does it do well?
Speaker 9 (19:32):
I think maybe the first step is really to talk
about what the syndrome is. It's called cancer kackexia, and
for most of the listeners, they're not going to be
familiar with that term. In fact, many can even pronounce
it xia c A c H E xi A. And
(19:54):
you know, this is a syndrome associated with cancer and
its treatment. It's multi factorial and it's different from your
typical weight loss. What we see in people that are
experiencing canccerchexia as they're experiencing appetite and weight loss as
(20:16):
well as skeletal muscle loss, and all this leads to fatigue,
functional impairment, increased toxicity from their cancer treatment, a poor
quality of life, and reduced survival. And this syndrome of
canccakexia is highly prevalent across many cancer types and up
(20:41):
to half or even eighty percent of people living with
the advanced stages of cancer. But sadly, people with cancer
and experiencing this syndrome may not know what it is
and how it's different from typical weight loss. So I
think that's a critical takeaway for the listeners is to
(21:03):
understand what kackexia is and how it is different from
typical weight loss.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
So when we hear of a cancer patient not having
an appetite and losing weight because they're not eating, is
kackexia responsible across the board for cancer appetite effects or
are there other things besides cockexia that can cause that.
Speaker 9 (21:29):
So kakexia is a likely contributor for most. However, it's
critical that people living with cancer also are having all
of their symptoms addressed, and these symptoms can be things
like pain or constipation or nogen vomiting that decrease one's
(21:50):
ability to eat. I think understanding that there is this
syndrome called kockexia, which really makes it challenging for people
to actually try to eat and get those calories in
is really critical for not only patients to understand, but
also their caregivers, because this can cause an immense amount
(22:14):
of distress around food. And I've seen this even turn
into a battle over the dinner table, where loved ones
are pushing food, wanting their loved one to eat, where
the patient is experiencing just profound struggle to even look
(22:34):
at food, much less get it in their mouth. And
so this creates this tension that to the point that
some patients will pretend to be a sleep find excuses
not to be present at the dinner table. And of
course food is a very social time. It's an opportunity
(22:56):
for us to interact with our loved ones, and you
watching your loved one eat is an essential role of
a caregiver. So this is a very complicated topic, and
I think the most important thing for everyone is to
really understand that this exists and that it's different. And
(23:20):
so that kind of sets the background for this very
exciting intervention and I can tell you more about about that.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Yeah, tell us what is it called, and tell us
about how it works.
Speaker 9 (23:34):
Yeah, so this is cutting edge cancer care. So over
the last fifteen years, scientists have been working hard to
develop a fancy drug that targets a specific inflammatory mediator
(23:57):
or cytokine called growth differentiation factor fifteen. And all that's
to say is that this particular CIDO kind causes loss
of appetite and weight loss at a specific part of
(24:18):
the brain, the brain stem. And so this drug was
developed that's a monoclonal an a body, so it's highly
specific for this particular inflammatory marker and decreases the circulating
levels of that marker in the blood. So it's highly selective.
(24:42):
And so we were able to use this very exciting
new drug in patients who are experiencing weight and appetite loss,
who also had had three specific types of cancer non
(25:03):
small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and chorectal cancer. And
for the first time ever, this was a biomarker driven
study for the control of symptoms and people living with cancer.
(25:25):
And what I mean by that is that rather than
just broadly giving a drug to people and hoping to
see a response, we were able to do a blood
test that demonstrated whether or not patients had a high
level of this growth differentiation factor fifteen or GDF fifteen.
(25:48):
If that was high in their blood, that would indicate
that they would be more likely to respond to this
monoclonal antibody called pont segra man and that was administered
to patients on a monthly basis as a subcutaneous injection,
(26:11):
so just right underneath the skin prior to their treatment.
And what we were able to find evaluate is that
several components of this this complicated syndrome. The first that
was most important is the body weight. We wanted to
(26:35):
ensure that patients were gaining weight over the course of
three weeks. Second, we looked at appetite, additional symptoms related
to cockexia, the skeletal muscle, as well as physical activity
(26:56):
using some digital measures and of course safety very important
and exciting way, we found that patients experienced up to
six point two pounds of weight gain receiving the highest
dose of the pontzegramab. We also demonstrated that patients had
(27:19):
improved appetite, improved symptoms, enhanced skeletal muscle, and improved non
sedentary physical activity. Meaning patients were up and moving and
taking care of themselves. And most importantly, we did not
find any evidence that there was increased toxicity or higher
(27:44):
concern for safety for those receiving pont segramab over lacebo.
Very exciting in a field where we really haven't had
much available for patients for several.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Decades other side effects to it, So so far.
Speaker 9 (28:04):
We have not determined or found any side effects. In fact,
there was some suggestion on the study that people receiving
the active drug actually had fewer side effects than those
on receiving the placebo.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Now you tested this on three cancers, do you think
it will work on others? Or are their plans to
test it on others?
Speaker 9 (28:26):
That remains to be seen. You know, a critical piece
of this is that we wanted to ensure that there
were high levels of this marker in the blood, that
GDF fifteen. These these three cancer types are known to
have high circulating levels of GDF fifteen in the blood.
But this is a clear area for ongoing investigation given
(28:50):
that cancer keexia is widely prevalent across multiple cancer types.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
So what's next for this drug trial and the approve
approval process?
Speaker 9 (29:01):
You know, I think despite a very very exciting early signal,
we will require a larger registrational trial and hopefully lead
this towards an FDA approval, as we currently have no
(29:21):
FDA approved drugs to help patients living with this horrible syndrome.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Well, that is very exciting. Doctor, Thank you very much
for taking time to talk with us.
Speaker 9 (29:31):
Thank you, Brad.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
That's doctor Eric Rowland with details on the drug that
helps prevent weight loss in cancer patience. Thanks for listening
to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. You can hear past
episodes on the iHeartRadio app under the podcast tap. Local
Voices is a public affairs presentation from iHeartRadio
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